A Gift for Alice
by Eisfee
Summary: In a race against time, it's up to Marisa to find Alice a birthday present.
1. I

Marisa awakened frantically in the final remains of an autumn morning, perhaps from a nightmare.

She was surrounded by all manners of items, amassed over the years from every part of Gensokyo; while some of these were indeed under her ownership, a concerning amount was simply stolen from their true owners, under her spurious definition of the term "borrowing". They possessed height in their abject chaos, as they, at certain areas of her "bedroom", towered over Marisa when she would sleep. The only open window in her house lived in this room, submitting just one faint sunray through its aged curtains, as this shined against some of the aimless dust with which Marisa apathetically lived; given that the ray was too meager to light even the one room, her house beyond remained enveloped in quiet and darkness.

Marisa arose from her bed, taking care to not elbow the TV resting only a few inches away; this proximity was upheld so she could play games without leaving the luxury of her mattress on a wooden floor without any bed frame. She was proud of such a life hack.

In any event, Alice would be receiving a call. "Hello?"

"Good mornin'! How's my ray of sunshine today?"

"Just fantastic! But why wouldn't I be? I'm looking forward to tonight as we speak!"

"…you are?"

"Oh, come on, don't you play dumb with me! I got a birthday party, after all!"

Marisa was grateful that phones can only relay audio, as she had forgotten Alice's birthday.

"I'm so excited! I wonder what I'll get this year…"

"Oh don't you worry!"

"What?"

"You're gonna get the best gift ever, I'll tell you what…yeah…it'll make everyone else regret buying their sorry excuses of a present! Hah hah!"

"..."

"I mean, come on, right? I..."

After the subsequent silence ended its brief span, Marisa was surprised to her Alice's newly alleviated words.

"I'm…so thankful…"

"…really?"

"It's so nice, Marisa, to hear that you care so much about me; pretty much no one else visits me except on my birthday…I still remember that birthday when you were sick, and I had to spend it only with Shanghai and Hourai…that was such a terrible day…to think that your present is something that'll insult everyone else's…just makes my heart so happy."

Marisa didn't really know what to say to this, so her next sentence really had no element of planning. "So! Wanna guess what you'll get?!"

She was startled by Alice's laughter, particularly its sinister tone. "You okay, Ali? It was a joke, you know."

"You're so funny, Marisa…we've been friends for a long time, so…I know exactly what your present is."

This was said in a way that would make even our Marisa tremble.

"…all right! So, I guess you'll be preparing then?"

"Oh, it's not much, but I do have to go…so I'll see you tonight."

"At 6, yes?"

"Certainly! You remembered!"

Marisa was pleased to succeed in a wild guess with a one-out-of-twelve chance. "Okay! Goodbye!"

"Bye!"

Marisa ended the call in a panicked manner, slamming the phone away. This was understandable; Alice was oftentimes overlooked, and as of late Marisa had to make up to her more often than not for forgetting even simple things like visits and meals out. Alice's words had entered her ear with unhinged character, so she had to come up with something truly of excellence to prove that Alice would have no reason to ever be saddened again.

She ran from her bedroom and began to frantically rummage throughout the house; certainly, an item selected from clutter scattered carelessly about will always produce a gift worthy of giving to a friend.


	2. II

The peace of the Hakurei Shrine would be withheld in a brief while, and yet Suika was so unaware and so happily in repose to even think of such an impending fact. Nevertheless, she slowly came to from the tatami below her futon shaking rather jarringly, and a litany of excited gibbering that only Reimu could make; as these two disturbances were becoming progressively louder, she sighed with tremendous frustration.

"Suika! Look at this!"

"…what is it, Reimu?"

"10,000 yen! We got a 10,000-yen donation!"

"…oh, that's fantastic; don't waste it like you did before..." she then closed her eyes in a vain attempt to be rid of this conversation.

"I wonder who's the pitiful…I mean the kind and most gracious soul who donated this to me…I mean to the shrine…"

"Probably Yukari."

"What?"

"I think Yukari just gave you that so you can stop whining all the time."

"…well, money is money! I wonder what we can use it on…"

"While you think about how that, how about you get out of here and let me sleep some more…"

Unfortunately for Suika, this is where her attempts to fall asleep again would end for the day, as Marisa was sounding off her own footfalls to where they were; in a manner of seconds, she was before them, heaving from the run to the shrine and dishevelled both in attire and speech.

"Reimu!"

"Oh, Marisa. You look very…what's the word…as if you're being chased by a hitman."

"You gotta help me!"

"I assume you'd be less frantic; I mean, Alice's party's tonight, so I should be the frantic one. Probably just going to give her some dusty whatever of mine…" As Reimu trailed off her spoken thought, she returned to Marisa's desperation, and it made sense. "Oh, you forgot to buy something."

"Not only that, but I completely forgot her birthday's today!"

"…you do know the day stays the same every year, right?"

"That ain't helping me! I need something awesome or I'll never live it down!"

"So why did you come here? Honestly, I think the only valuable thing we have is our 20-year-old TV."

"I need an idea! You know her just as well as me, so I thought you could give me some sort of idea or whatever…"

"Well…I'd give her some kind of…doll-related thing?"

Suika sat up to agree, albeit from half-opened eyes. "Yeah, I think that'll work."

Marisa, at last, felt some relief. "Yes! That'll work just fine! I think she likes dolls more than people!"

"But Marisa, I think it'll be a difficult task…now that I think about it, she might have every doll Gensokyo can offer. It'll have to be an expensive one…or something with a limited production run…or a set? Hmm…"

"...so I'll just stop by Kourindou! Kourin's sure to have some dolls or something…"

Marisa's response faded due to her realizing that such a present would require funds far beyond the amount she possessed; while she did have some money, there would need to be more of it to secure the gift.

Fueled by the sprint over to Reimu and the stakes piled against her, she could only think of one solution. "Look, Reimu! Korean barbecue!"

"What?! Where?!"

Marisa snatched the banknote away, and dashed away like the thief she can be.

Reimu, still holding where the bill was, absolutely oblivious of this development, was looking for the famed grilled meat. "…Suika?"

"…yes, Reimu."

She was staring towards where Marisa pointed, to a boringly nondescript corner of the ceiling. "Do you see anything? Because I don't."

"…it was a lie, Reimu; Marisa stole the donation and ran away."

"Nonsense! How can you even think-" She looked at her empty hand. "Suika, where's the donation?"

"…"

"Did you take it?! Where is it?!"


	3. III

Kourindou was not particularly busy: the only people present at this specific time were Tokiko, and a slight number of other, more unknown individuals, as they browsed throughout the various items that drift in from outside Gensokyo; since none of them wanted to make a purchase out of these items, Rinnosuke was merely attending the counter, visibly and mentally afflicted by the boredom of sitting and thoughtlessly observing the patrons milling about his store.

What with the above in mind, it was a change of pace for him to see Marisa's frantic entrance, which caused some of his wares near where she completed said entrance to fall spectacularly to the ground, a tremendous gust of wind to sweep the store's ennui away, and Tokiko to swiftly and painstakingly sneak out of the store; avoiding any more mishaps with Marisa was in her best interest, after all.

Rinnosuke, as an example of how one should keep a level head when running a business, began as to suggest the idea that this was normal. "Good morning; welcome to-"

"Spare it, Kourin…I need your help."

"Certainly. Would you like to see our newest items?"

"…not really! I just wanted to know if you had any dolls."

Rinnosuke stood up from his chair, with a humbled, romantic air about him. "Marisa…at long last, you are wanting to play with dolls! I have been waiting for this moment for so-"

"I think you're joking; you better be, 'cause the dolls are not for me. They're for Alice."

"Oh?"

"It's her birthday, so…I got 10,000 yen and some odd amount, so anything you got!"

"Well, I would…most certainly…like to help you…however…" This newly ominous atmosphere was appended with Rinnosuke presenting a massive, spiral-bound journal to her, taken from a secluded shelf below the register.

"...what's this?"

"This is every single thing that you've pilfered from my shop over the years, by date." In an overly dramatic fashion, he opened towards a random page, and pointed to an inscribed item with a rigidly imposing finger. "For example, we have last summer, where you stole...exactly three brooms…or perhaps we should fast-forward to fifteen days after that, where you had the sudden, idiotic need to 'borrow' my entire stock of rubber chickens?"

"…"

"Tell me, Marisa, how are those being utilized?"

"…they are currently being…utilized…to cover up the bags of sand by my desk."

"Oh! The bags of sand! I think that I can recall…yes, right here, indeed! Exactly a fortnight prior, you took exactly four bags of sand!"

"What're you getting at, Kourin?"

"The thing that I'm 'getting at', as you so claim, is that you should utilize the money in your possession to begin paying off what you owe."

She began to laugh.

"I feel like you're not taking this seriously, Marisa."

"How can I?! Are you kidding?! You seriously wrote down everything that I took? Seriously? Why are you acting like this?!"

"It is simply the duty of every shopkeeper to keep tabs on the inventory."

"Could you flip to a random page?"

"As you wish." He did so.

"Read me one thing from that page, if you please."

"Certainly; I have here that you took an inflatable alien, that supposedly has air from Saturn in it. News flash: it doesn't!"

"Look, I don't even know where that thing is anymore; it's probably all deflated by now anyway."

"In that case, I wholeheartedly recommend that you buy an inflatable alien, and hitch a ride on the next departing rocket ship to acquire you some of that nice, Cronian air!"

"…"

"However, you would need to fly to Hong Kong first, as the inflatable itself did come from the Chungking Mansions…"

"So are you going to tell me if you have any dolls, or am I just wasting my time?"

"I think you should pay off your debt first, as you are, as is oftentimes said, in the red!"

It was obvious that Rinnosuke was acting passive-aggressively about Marisa's lengthy tab of filched items. There was only one thing that stood out: Marisa had never seen that journal; actually, judging from her previous visit (which was just last week), Rinnosuke was far more amicable than his present manner, and was certainly not acting like a villain from a poorly-funded drama series.

Marisa used every ounce of her deductive skills to figure out why he was acting with these theatrics; nevertheless, it didn't require much thought, as she knew him similarly to how one would recall one's own hands. "Kourin…I think I know what this is about."

"Whatever could your guess be?!"

"You're trying to impress me."

"…that is not even remotely close to…what?"

Now the mood had shifted, approaching what could accompany a setting sun, despite it still being where it was in the morning.

"How long have we known each other?"

"Well, if I can recall…"

"How long have you known my family, even?"

"…if you must know-"

"I know what you're going to say: 'Oh, I worked for your father all those years ago! What a nice man! To him I am eternally grateful!', right? We go way back, and all throughout those years, it cannot be ruled out that you must have had some…feelings for me, right?"

"Oh look! Another customer!"

He pointed to the shop's entrance, which was empty; in fact, everyone else had left, and with that they were the only two remaining.

"So this whole…performance, to be kind, was just to impress me with your expert note-taking and logistic skills, right? You don't care about any of these things that I stole. I can steal anything I want, and get away with it...even if it's your heart."

Rinnosuke was quite embarrassed by this, which eclipsed his towering presence and the melodrama about his journal, and he was at last quelled. Even so, he trudged onward with feeble and masked indifference. "…I do have a doll."

"Great! Bring it out, if you please!"

He did so. "This is a porcelain doll from the Roth brand that I received for trade from a visitor a few weeks ago; it's an import from Germany."

The doll was of a young girl, and akin to the brand, possessed deeply red hair and a folksy, colorful outfit. It also gave a blank stare from disturbingly realistic eyes that was appropriately horrifying.

"…Kourin."

"Yes?"

"What's the name of that theory that says that things that are really close to being human, but not exactly, are really creepy?"

"…while I'm not too sure of the exact name, I have heard of it."

"Don't you think it applies to this…rather well?"

"I don't really share your concern; it's not like it can move around on its own. It doesn't even talk."

"Well, that's disappointing, given the price and all." She was of course deterred by the exorbitant value for this ghoul of a doll.

"Do you know how rare that doll is? Especially here? I doubt we'll get any more Roths in our lifetime!"

While Marisa was paused for a brief while in the predicament, her decision was unexpectedly fleeting and indifferent. "I'll take it. This is Yukari's money anyway."

She paid Rinnosuke for the doll, thanked her friend, and left Kourindou with only a hundred-yen coin remaining. "I guess I'm going to a vending machine today for lunch. But I got my present now!"

Marisa proudly began the return to her house to wrap the gift, which would, with a high probability, lead to it not being wrapped until the very last minute.

At any rate, Patchouli would be receiving an unexpected guest.


	4. IV

Meanwhile, Patchouli was doing her best to uphold the goal of not leaving the library; while the interior itself was not too unkempt, Patchouli's, as we'll term it for here, "Personal Zone", was littered with wrappers and containers that once housed food that could somehow grant her the energy needed to do even basic tasks, which comprised only of marathon gaming sessions. For these past few days, it was increasingly apparent that Koakuma was the only one holding up the library to any sort of passable standard beyond Patchouli and her surrounding disarray.

Hong Meiling, "guarding" as always, had devised something rather interesting at the front of their mansion, of which Marisa was certifiably confused after her walk to their mansion was to this point.

"Meiling, what…is this?"

"Oh, Marisa! Hello! How do you like my toll entrance?!"

She stood proudly next to her creation, a railroad-style crossing gate, connected to a carnival ride-esque set of controls with slightly fraying wires.

"…why does the mansion need a crossing gate if I'm the only one who comes here?"

"Why, we must advance towards the future! I not only possess an obligation to follow accordingly, but to also place this imposing gate, which will, with absolute certainty, dismiss away any solicitors!"

"Well, how nice."

"Rightfully aligned, I must ask for your signature, and time of entry!"

Marisa began after a pause in the face of Meiling's (admittedly) official-looking form that was presented to her. "So this isn't a toll booth."

"...what?"

"It's more of a sign-in-and-out kind of deal, right?"

"Well…since I cannot collect any actual fare, I guess you could say that," Meiling replied under a filtered breath, and with her head turned away.

"So why do you need this gate in front of the one that the mansion already has?"

Meiling had to think for a while to answer this question. "…to be imposing?"

"But it looks like I'm going over some train tracks in a village."

"Trains are dangerous, you know! People need to watch out for them…all the time! And…"

"…"

"And it'll give me something to do!"

Marisa, impressed by the prowess Meiling gave to admit this truth, decided to humor her. "Fine then, I'll sign."

Marisa wrote her name, the date, and the time, but faltered at the next requirement.

"I need a reason for your visit as well!"

"…are you serious?"

"Verily!"

"Fine then…I'm going to put 'Visiting Patches', okay?"

"There is no one by that name here! We have a Patchouli; is that who you mean?"

Growing more impatient, Marisa decided to let loose a distractor. "…hey Meiling, how does this thing work? I really want to know."

"Oh! Your interest is rightfully deserving of an answer! I simply press this button over here…"

She walked over to the button and pressed it, and it depressed with a satisfying clank; the gate sluggishly creaked open, with squeaks and rattles of an age which could rival those of some fine wines.

"And there you go," Meiling proclaimed during her run to the second gate, "While I still need to open the mansion gates manually, there is always room for improvement! The human race marches on!"

Marisa entered without a reply, inured from this nonsense.

Patchouli was so immersed in her MMO that Marisa could stand right next to Patchouli's side, with no recognition of her ever being there. Marisa decided to use this to her own advantage, and stared at Patchouli for a concerning length of time while the gaming marched onward.

It only took a slight tilt of Patchouli's eyes for her to realize that Marisa had been standing there; as what commonly results from similar situations, Patchouli jolted from her chair with a loud yell, with Marisa's face rightfully being smashed by her headset.

Marisa apologetically replied, as Patchouli was now heaving from the affair. "…I guess I deserved that."

"Are you kidding me?! I didn't see you! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I didn't 'sneak up on you'; you really didn't hear all the racket from me moving your junk around?"

"Obviously not! I was on a quest with some of my guild members! I'm probably dead by now!"

"…and of course you're only thinking about that."

"Well, I had a lot of rare items on me!"

Marisa could see that Patchouli was "overworked", even with this term rarely applied in such a context. "How about I get Sakuya to make some tea?"

"I guess that'll be fine…I needed to take a break anyway."

"…when did you start?"

"Let's see…" Patchouli pondered aloud, still panting from the scare, as she looked to her desktop clock. "It's been about five hours."

"Five hours?" Marisa replied snidely. "That's all?"

"…are you here to do…anything productive?"

"Yes, actually! As I have Alice's gift at the ready, I opted to hang out here!"

"Really?"

"Yes! What do you want to do?"

Patchouli stared at Marisa incredulously, but this feeling was not picked up by the latter. "I want to log back in and salvage at least some of my MP that I lost from my death."

"Come on, you know I can't understand that RPG lingo of yours! Let's play something multiplayer."

Patchouli decided that, despite all of Marisa's previously and cumulatively annoying behavior, which if written to paper, would happily spill out of a dictionary-size tome, she would forgive this fresh transgression. Regardless, this decision could never be stated ostensibly. "Fine, let's do it."

Cast from that reply, the remainder of the sunlight lived and passed for their merriment.


	5. V

"Sakuya, I'm taking off. Here's your-"

Marisa could say no more.

She was merely performing a good act: returning Sakuya's tea set to their kitchen. There could be no probability to be found in Marisa expecting what she saw to be brought to reality before her: a scene that instantly silenced all of the fun she had with Patchouli, every gram of her faith towards seeing Alice happy again, her efforts to buy the gift (with stolen money notwithstanding), and, ultimately, her means to finish the sentence.

Flandre and Remilia were crudely wrapping their gift to Alice, which was not only the same doll that Marisa had bought, but others to constitute a family set: a brother and their parents.

Sakuya was supervising their hashed job, happily nonchalant from them being so adorable in being unable to really wrap their present. "Oh, Marisa? Getting ready for Alice's party?"

"Well…I…yes! Just a quick question, though!"

"Yes?"

"Where did you get those?"

"What?"

"The dolls. Aren't they, like, European or something?"

"Well, they are! I ordered them online. Took their sweet time getting here too; they just got delivered today, actually. Just in time! Why do you ask?"

Marisa avoided both Sakuya's question and her gaze as she sheepishly turned away, and placed the set onto the counter nearby. "Oh, no reason…I'm going to say goodbye to Patches…"

"But didn't you already do that?"

"Well she's my friend so I'm doin' it again!"

"…suit yourself," Sakuya remitted, as she turned back to Flandre, who had just placed a bow onto her sister's head. "Now, don't do that! We can't give Remilia away!"

Marisa stormed from the scene and back to Patchouli, the entire journey seeming instantaneous on account of her nerves being flooded with anxiety.

Patchouli, who had regressed to her computer yet again, was playing with a degree of focus that forced Marisa to beg for her attention. "Patches!"

"Marisa, what is it? You're distracting me." She had no interest in doing more for her beyond this terse reply.

Marisa continued, although she had to do so to the back of Patchouli's head. "I need your help! Now!"

"…but don't you have to-"

"Please! You've got to help me! Patches!"

Patchouli gathered her composure to turn to her friend, but not before a sigh. "Okay, okay...what is it?"

"Sakuya's wrapping Alice's gift!"

"Our gift to her?"

"Yes!"

"Are those dolls good, you think? I wanted to ask you, honestly, but I kept-"

"Why didn't you…tell me…"

"What?"

"I got her the same thing!"

The beat following could might as well had been of a much grander span.

"…hmm."

"Yes, 'Hmm…' is correct!"

"So you need a new gift, like, half an hour?"

"Yeah! What am I going to do?!"

To find the answer to this question, Patchouli had to depart her computer.

From here, they found themselves engaged in a feverish discussion about the new gift, which devolved into Marisa speaking more out of self-depreciation than of finding an actual present; this entire event took place with the two seated at a table littered with books that Patchouli had never bothered to shelve, and from that they were being used as punching bags and cushions on which Marisa hid her face from the approaching birthday party.

"Patches...why am I like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I keep forgetting about her! Why do I keep doing that…"

"Well, to be honest, Alice can be a very forgettable person."

"But this was my chance to make it up to her! I need to do better! Now I have nothing to give her, and the party's gonna start soon…and I'll never be able to..."

"Actually, I do have to get ready myself, so…can we be done now?"

"…I have an idea."

"What?"

"I'll just get a big box and you put me in it; I'll be the present. The perfect gift."

Such an idea warranted the two to pause and reflect on whether or not it possessed any actual value.

Patchouli's reply was dubious in its sincerity. "…actually, I don't think she would mind that."

"Okay! But I…really don't want to do that. That'll be last resort. Let's keep thinking."

"Marisa, I have got to get ready."

"Patches! Wait! Don't!"

"Marisa, I have to get ready; I really don't know what else to say."

"But I don't have anything to give her!"

"Marisa, I know you very well; you are, surprisingly, a very strategic and resourceful person. I know you've been in these sorts of situations before, and I'm sure you'll think of something to get yourself out of this one."

As Patchouli got up to ready herself, Marisa declined to her thoughts, without hope and with no solutions. "I can't think of anything else…what can be better than those dolls? What can be better than those…better than the best dolls Gensokyo has…"

Marisa was the recipient of the greatest epiphany that she had ever been so grateful to experience, which gave her the strength to shoot out of the despair, and down their crimson hallways with a lightning sprint to Sakuya, who was in the process of unlocking the front doors. "Sakuya!"

"Yes?"

"You can freeze time, right?"

"…yes, what are you getting at?"

"Can you do it to only one person?!"

"…yes?"

"Do it to me before you leave!"

"Marisa, we really have to go."

"I need you to do this! Can't you do this one thing?! It'll take you, like, one second!"

"Marisa, I-"

Sakuya was shocked to find Marisa prostrated on their carpet.

"Sakuya! I beg of you! Please! Please do this for me! This one thing! Have a heart! Have a heart in that padded chest of yours to help me and my pathetic self! Please!"

It was fully evident: Marisa, in her vast catalog of transgressions over her life so far, had rarely needed to make amends from any of them, never mind one resting in a league that would force her to plead help from anyone as detailed here. Thoughts of Alice being disappointed pummeled her weary mind with a hurricane force, making the grovelling a reflex; Sakuya's response did not matter, as at least for the interim, Marisa was relieved from hearing these words of her own heart being wrenched out.

"…okay. I'll do it."

"…thank you…thank you so much, Sakuya…"

"You see this watch?"

While she called it as such, what was revealed to Marisa was an antiquated and yet immaculately polished pocketwatch.

"After I cast it, I'm going to count to one second. I will end it after that. If you need more time, we'll do this again. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"All right. Here we go."

In the time it takes one to blink, Marisa instantly appeared far more ragged, albeit with her present to Alice immaculately wrapped, held with rattling hands, their fingers littered with scars and more fresh cuts. She was on her knees from the fact that she could not stand, kneeling before the watch that had been on for less than half of a second.

"Was that enough time?"

"…yes…how did you know…that I was done…"

"Call it intuition; if it was actually a second, you would have been in need of something to eat, and if it was more…then, frankly, you wouldn't be alive."

"I…owe you one."

"Let's figure that out later, and go to Alice. All right?"

"…yes."


	6. VI

By itself, Alice's house was not in any manner decorated for her birthday, even with the interior under consideration; the only signs of a birthday actually taking place were a cake, a modest stack of presents, some guests who were chitchatting aimlessly, and finally, Alice herself.

The birthday girl was alone in her fretful thoughts, as Marisa had not arrived yet; even with everyone else having a decent time, Alice's anticipation for Marisa and her present easily voided the alternative (and much better) idea of just enjoying the party. Nevertheless, she remained by a window near her front door, staring towards the night in a manner that would make any passerby run away in horror after being so unfortunate to see her bloodcurdling gaze.

Shanghai flew to her with a glass of water.

"Oh…thank you, but I'm not really thirsty."

Since Shanghai can't talk, how Alice contributed to this "conversation" will forever remain inexplicable.

"No, I'm having a good time; I just want Marisa to be here, that's all. She's late. Well, I can't really…no, I want to wait. You go put the candles on! No…no…it's not like I want to be standing by a window on my birthday! Why don't you…I can't do that!"

Reimu, sitting near the table which had the presents on top, was observing Alice as one would for an animal at a zoo. "She's talking to herself again."

Suika, on its other side, had already broken in her first bottle of sake. "Why are you watching her?"

"Do you see anything more fun to do? It's not like the party's getting any more interesting."

"Why don't you talk to her?"

"…Suika, I don't think I can engage her more than when she talks to her dolls; they…are on a higher level with her than I'll ever be."

"At least she can talk to a real person."

"And just what do I talk about? What would you recommend?"

"…I…"

"You see? You can't think of anything either!"

Their conversation was interrupted, along with effectively every other spoken word, when Sakuya arrived with her housemates, and Marisa.

Alice excitedly ran to the door and opened it for them; while she was openly welcoming, this encouragement to "enjoy the party" was really done so the Scarlet Devil Mansion's residents could get out of the way of Marisa.

"Marisa! Thank goodness you're here!"

"No kidding, but do you think you can quit your habit of staring out a window like that?"

"You saw me?"

"...you looked like you we're going to kill me when I got in here."

"But I was worried you wouldn't show up! I-"

Alice's eagerness, which had blinded her enough for Marisa's battered hands and weary posture to be glossed over, had now faded.

Marisa, what happened to you?! Your hands...they're all scratched up...did you fall down on the way over?"

"…don't worry about it."

"But you look so tired! Please, have a seat...would you like something to drink?"

"Let's just enjoy the party, Ali," she replied while trying to find a good chair; Marisa could tell that her friend needed to rest similarly.

"But I want to open your present!"

"Don't you want us to sing 'Happy Birthday' first?"

"No! It's my birthday, and the first thing I want to do is open your gift!"

"…but I don't think everyone's paying attention. Don't you want to wait until-"

"No, I'm opening it!"

While not every guest was aware of Alice tearing into the wrapping paper as a lion would to its prey, they soon witnessed her silent towards what was inside.

Beyond the wrapping, Alice viewed the opened box, of a simple and reverent eggshell color, her gifts before her: with a grasp undertaken with even more care than how one would hold a pair of baby birds, Alice picked up her two knitted dolls: one of herself, and one of Marisa.

"Marisa…are these dolls…us?"

"Yep."

"Where did you…get these-"

"I made them."

"You…made them?"

"You bet. Now we can be together, even if I'm not with you."

"…"

Alice cradled the results of Marisa's craftsmanship, founded within a second's fraction under the governance of Sakuya's respite of time itself: a present made from seeming hours of learning how to knit, leagues of frustration and spent yarn, numerous pricks from needles held with weary hope and yet steadfast determination, and doll after doll made in vain, all far below the immaculate standard which only the two in Alice's hands possessed.

"Hey...Ali? You all right?"

"..."

"Ali? Are-"

Marisa couldn't finish the sentence; Alice's embrace, well deserved and far more prevalent, had overcome her.

"Thank you...so much...Marisa...this is the best gift I have ever received..."

"...it's all good, Ali..."

Alice gave up on the fight to hold back her tears.

"...Ali? You good? Can we...like, open the other presents or something? People are looking at us."

"I...don't care...about any other person...at all..."

"... so I guess I'll be trapped here forever?"

"...you got that right..."

As her response resigned Marisa to this fate, the end of it had come rather jarring, given that Alice had other plans, evident from her sprint towards Reimu.

"Hey, Reimu! Look at this!"

"Yes Alice, what is it?" Reimu knew what was coming her way, and chose to roll with it so she could be done with this conversation promptly.

"Look at these dolls Marisa made, just for me!"

"Oh, how nice."

She was clearly playing the braggart more than any other role. "I doubt that any of my other gifts will be able to top these, don't you think?"

Reimu, doing her absolute best to remain as stoic as possible, nevertheless replied through a rapidly fading veneer. "...I highly doubt that they will be able to, Alice."

"I agree as well!"

As Alice ran to a soon-to-be hapless Patchouli to repeat the exchange, Marisa went to an adjacent chair to Reimu's table; Suika had checked out far beforehand, so never mind her being asleep near the two.

"You owe me an apology."

"Why?"

"Did you see what you did to me? That was brutal."

"Just stop it, Reimu, okay? I made her a great present, and that's all there is to it; how am I responsible for someone else's response?"

"You're responsible when the response involves her taunting me like that. And another thing: you didn't really make those."

"Yes I did!"

"No you didn't; you just said that to get some MariAli points out of it."

"I made those dolls for her! See my hands? You can't fake hard work like that."

"Who could knit those in less than a day? They're too good."

"I sat down, and I knit her those dolls, and I'm proud of it. I don't have anything else to say."

"Well, I don't believe you."

"How about this?"

"Go for it."

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the shrine and make you your own personal Reimu. Sound good?"

"Challenge accepted! You probably couldn't even knit a yukkuri of me."

"Prepare to be humbled, my dear."

"Yeah yeah, blah-de-blah."

While it shall be not be further detailed here, Reimu would soon be eating her own words, come the following day.

But for this night, Marisa was quite pleased with how it turned out; she put forth an honest, thoughtful, and successful effort, which ultimately produced a gift that was easily worth the arduous time put into it. She decided to get up to bring Alice to the cake, away from her boastful tour of each partygoer; if Marisa didn't, she would be alone in her rendition of "Happy Birthday".


End file.
